When Paul Simon released his epic South African-influenced “Graceland” album in 1986, Joe Berlinger, then 25 and already a big fan of the singer-songwriter, was quite aware of the simmering political implications that came along with the highly successful and rhythmically rich recording.

The long-lingering history of blatant colonial racial segregation in that country had many prominent activists in the anti-apartheid movement accusing Simon of breaking the worldwide cultural and economic boycotts that had been put in place to pressure the then-current regime to see the error of its ways.

In a recent telephone conversation with The Park Record, Berlilnger, a two-time Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker, connected the dots between “Graceland” and “Under African Skies,” the highly-anticipated film he is bringing to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Berlinger is no stranger to the annual late-January film orgy in the mountains of Utah, and with “Brother’s Keeper” (1992), “Mettalica: Some Kind of Monster” (2004), and “Crude” (2009), he has set the bar rather high.

He sees the prime question posed by his new film to be: “What is the role of the artist in society and who should set the rules?” “Under African Skies” attempts to explore that debate by following Simon to South Africa for the “25th Anniversary ‘Graceland’ Reunion Concert” and, through interviews with those at the heart of the story, confronting the issues head on.

“I don’t do music films per se. There always has to be another story layered upon it,” he explained. “With the Metallica film, it was their inner demons as much as their music.” Obviously, he didn’t have to look very far to find a sidebar for this one.

Berlinger initially hooked up with Simon when, as part of his Independent Movie Channel series “Iconoclasts,” he shot an episode featuring Paul and longtime Saturday Night Live guru Loren Michaels. They talked of doing a film someday, and when the “Graceland” reunion began to take shape, Joe jumped in.

Weaving nuggets from Simon’s film archives of the original “Graceland” project with contemporary footage, including interviews with key anti-apartheid activists of the time and such iconic figures as Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, Paul McCartney, David rne and Peter Gabriel, Berlinger’s film, which screens in the Documentary Premiere category, comes at the story from multiple angles.

“I wanted everyone who sees it to make up their own mind about the political component,” he added. “I was deeply impressed with how South Africans view the ‘Graceland’ album. They see it as an important milestone in their musical culture. Paul’s honesty concerning his feelings about the initial criticism of the project was also quite impressive and certainly provided depth.”

Simon appears to have no regrets: “In many ways, ‘Graceland’ was the most extraordinary experience in my entire career. The insight into rhythm was the great gift that I received from making the trip to South Africa and collaborating with African musicians.”

His initial introduction to the rhythm came when a friend lent him a cassette of the “Boyoyo Boys ” instrumental “Gumboots,” which he re-tooled with vocals for inclusion on the album.

One of the great all-time ‘Graceland’ shoutouts, although not really relevant to or included in the film, came from the late Joe Strummer of The Clash in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: “I don’t like the idea that people who aren’t adolescents make records. Adolescents make the best records. Except for Paul Simon. Except for ‘Graceland.’ He’s hit a new plateau there, but he’s writing to his own age group. ‘Graceland’ is something new.”

Following the festival, there will be a short theatrical release, with A&E holding the TV rights. In the spring, a collector’s box set as well as a special two-disc version, each featuring the original album with bonus tracks and the director’s cut of “Under African Skies,” will be released.

Oh yeah, the more serious part of the story notwithstanding, there’s tons of great music in Joe Berlinger’s “Under African Skies!”

“Under African Skies!,” one of the Documentary Premieres at the Sundance Film Festival, will screen:

Sunday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m., the MARC, PC

Monday, Jan. 23, Yarrow Hotel Theatre, PC

Thursday, Jan. 26, 9 p.m., Salt Lake City Library, SLC

Friday, Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m., the MARC, PC